Joe Gibbs Racing’s Daniel Suarez took the checkered flag in Sunday’s rain-delayed Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway. The Mexican born driver advanced to the next Round of Eight in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Chase.
Daniel Suarez took the lead from Justin Allgaier on Lap 155 and sped off. Allgaier would finish out his race in third. Ty Dillon worked his way past Allgaier for the runner-up spot but finished over five and a half. It was Daniel Suarez’s second victory in the 2016 season.
“Having all of the support that I have had from Mexico and from here in the U.S. and all of Latin America has been super special. I really feel lucky to be in this position and to also be able to represent all of them. I’m very proud of this team and the 19 Interstate Batteries Toyota Camry,” Daniel Suarez said. “They did a really good job today, and the guys just brought an amazing car. We also had a ton of speed. This is one of those races that you would feel bad to lose.”
Daniel Suarez’s teammate Erik Jones, didn’t have his best day on Sunday. The pole position winner had a vibration in his front tire and made an unscheduled stop around Lapp 100.
After the caution flag on Lap 139 flew due to Daniel Suarez and Justin Marks made contact, Erik Jones got the chance to get back on the lead lap. Unfortunately for Jones, he had to swing into the pits once again for a splash of gas with only seven laps to go. The untimely stop cost the speedster and he finished out his day in 16th.
“I’m disappointed, you know?” Jones said. “It’s not how we wanted to run, for sure. Not a good day for us. Just frustrated and just really disappointed in how the first couple weeks have gone in the Chase. We’ve run so strong all year, and now to kind of fall on our face here the last couple weeks has been unfortunate. Just need to have a good day at Charlotte. We need to make up four points, get to the next round and start over. Hopefully, we can do that.”
Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon, who wrecked last weekend at Kentucky finished a solid second. The gritty competitor never led a lap but maintained his spot towards the front for the rain-shortened race.
As a result, Austin Dillon still sits outside the top eight in the Chase standings. He has one race left to find a way into the next round on Friday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. After that race the Chase field will be trimmed from 12 to eight.
Austin Dillon is three points behind 15th-place finisher Brennan Poole in eighth place. Erik Jones leads all Xfinity series regulars with five victories this season. The young phenom is still four points back in 10th.
Three top NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers sat out of the Drive Sober 200. Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano all used fill-in racers for the Xfinity contest so they could focus on the Cup race.
Regan Smith drove for Austin Dillon and finished in 13th. Drew Herring piloted Kyle Busch’s car to a 21st place performance. Ryan Blaney filled in for joey Logano and finished in an impressive fourth.
The event at Dover International Speedway was delayed from a scheduled Saturday start because of in-climate weather conditions. Corey Lajoie finished a career-best sixth. Furthermore, it was his second straight top 10 in an Xfinity Series contest. J.J. Yeley drove his way to a top 10 finish in the eighth spot and Alex Bowman, who drove the #88 for JR Motorsports rounded out the top five in fifth.
Final Results for the Drive Sober 200 at Dover International Speedway:
1. (5) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 200.
2. (7) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 200.
3. (6) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
4. (3) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 200.
5. (4) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 200.
6. (19) Corey LaJoie, Toyota, 200.
7. (8) Elliott Sadler, Chevrolet, 200.
8. (25) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 200.
9. (13) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 200.
10. (22) Ryan Reed, Ford, 200.
11. (9) Darrell Wallace Jr., Ford, 200.
12. (11) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 199.
13. (10) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 199.
14. (20) Blake Koch, Chevrolet, 199.
15. (12) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 199.
16. (1) Erik Jones, Toyota, 198.
17. (16) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 198.
18. (18) Ryan Preece, Chevrolet, 198.
19. (14) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 198.
20. (21) Dakoda Armstrong, Toyota, 197.
21. (2) Drew Herring, Toyota, 196.
22. (17) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 196.
23. (29) Mario Gosselin, Chevrolet, 196.
24. (23) Ray Black Jr., Chevrolet, 195.
25. (28) Brandon Hightower, Dodge, 194.
26. (33) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 191.
27. (35) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 191.
28. (31) David Starr, Chevrolet, 190.
29. (38) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 184.
30. (40) Mike Harmon, Dodge, 160.
31. (15) Justin Marks, Chevrolet, Accident, 137.
32. (26) Jeff Green, Toyota, Ignition, 103.
33. (24) BJ McLeod, Ford, Electrical, 75.
34. (34) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Handling, 65.
35. (39) Matt Waltz, Chevrolet, Engine, 64.
36. (32) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, Accident, 58.
37. (37) Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, 57.
38. (36) Timmy Hill, Chevrolet, Transmission, 44.
39. (30) Josh Wise, Ford, Engine, 1.
40. (27) Matt DiBenedetto, Toyota, Accident, 1.
RACE STATISTICS:
Average Speed of Race Winner: 104.076 mph.
Time of Race: 1 hour, 55 minutes, 18 seconds
Margin of Victory: 5.625 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 4 for 35 laps.
